Category Archives: Uncategorized

Umberto Eco

2016 has been a bad year for our heroes. Growing up, the people who inspire us tend to be a generation or two older and so inevitably a point is reached when they start passing away in greater numbers. The precarious nature of existence means some are long gone (Kurt Cobain, Jeff Buckley), others areContinue reading “Umberto Eco”

All The News That’s New and Approved

It’s been a pretty good week. The copyedit of The Waves Burn Bright is done and dusted and I’m feeling a lot happier with the text. At this point in the cycle I’m torn between wanting to get the book out into the world as soon as possible and wanting to hang onto it, to keepContinue reading “All The News That’s New and Approved”

Fractures

I’ve mentioned in a few places that I have a poetry collection forthcoming and I’m now in a position to share some details about it. Fractures is a series of haiku and haiku-like* poems that stand alone and also form a fragmentary narrative. It’s been taken on by the fabulous Tapsalteerie press based in rural AberdeenshireContinue reading “Fractures”

Nothing in the Rule Book Interview

Recently the kind folk at http://www.nothingintherulebook.com contacted me about doing an interview and writing an article for their site. The article will appear later in the year but the interview is live now. They asked some tough questions about the ethical responsibility of writers and the realities of life as a writer while the publishingContinue reading “Nothing in the Rule Book Interview”

Looking Forward to The Waves Burn Bright

I was very pleased to wake up this morning to the news that the lovely people at the Scottish Book Trust have included The Waves Burn Bright in their list of novels to look forward to in 2016. Considering there’s new work from James Kelman, A L Kennedy and Irvine Welsh, and debuts from Helen Sedgwick andContinue reading “Looking Forward to The Waves Burn Bright”

The Waves Burn Bright – new for 2016

So here it is, the cover and blurb of my third novel, The Waves Burn Bright. Yet again Freight have done a stunning job with the cover (with zero input from me, so I’m allowed to gush about it). As some of you will know from posts elsewhere, the book concerns the Piper Alpha disaster thatContinue reading “The Waves Burn Bright – new for 2016”

On The Nature of Reviewing

A happy New Year to you all. I hope, if you celebrate Christmas, you had a merry one. If not, I hope you still had a merry December. I’m currently on a beach in Okinawa getting the holiday that was denied me in October when I broke my leg the day before flying to Australia.Continue reading “On The Nature of Reviewing”

Books of the Year

‘Tis the season for end of year lists so Freight have put together a list of the books their staff and writers have been enjoying this year. We were limited to two books apiece, which made the task almost impossible, but in the end I went with Andrew Raymond Drennan’s The Limits of the World and KazuoContinue reading “Books of the Year”

Reviews: Amy Yamada and Simon Sylvester

As part of the Japan Times ‘Essential Reading for Japanophiles’ series, I’ve taken a look at controversial writer Amy Yamada’s Bedtime Eyes. It’s in the paper today (Sunday 13th December) and online here. My review of Simon Sylvester’s The Visitors from Gutter 13 has also just snuck online here.